Earphone



Dec- 4, 1934-. s. F. LYBARGER EARPH'ONE Filed May 22, 1933 ',y f V www! l,

Patented Dec, 4, 19344 Samuel F. Lybarger,

Mount Lebanon, Pa., ao-

inor to E. A. Myers a Sons, Mount Lebanon,

,a Myer:

p composed of Edward A. andEdwln J. Myers Application Hay 22, 1933, Serial No. 672,199 8 Claims. (CL 179-107) 'I'his invention relates to sound-transmitting apparatus devised for use in conveying amplified soundvibrations to the internal ear of a person who is ailiicted with defective hearing, and more particularly to what is referred to in the art as a receiver.

It is well known that certain lesions occur in the middle ear, between the drum membrane and the cochlea, as well as otherdefects which cause defective hearing. 'I'he amount of hearing deiiciency caused by such defects is frequently found to be greater over some frequency ranges than over others. t

With this in mind itis an object of this invention to provide an improved combination receiver adapted to transmit by bone conduction the frequencies which are most greatly attenuated by lesions in the middle ear, and to transmit by air conduction those frequencies which are not so greatly attenuated in the middle ear, thus providing greater eiiiciency of transmission.

Another object is to provide a receiver of this character which is simple and sturdy of construction, as well as eilicient in operation and easy to wear.

These and various other objects, as well as the various other novel features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, of which Fig. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the invention, illustrating it mounted on the users ear; Fig. 2 a view partly in elevation and partly in section of a modiiied form of the invention; and Fig. 3 a view also in section of another modiiication.

According to the invention, referring iirst to Fig. 1, a receiver is provided, preferably of the miniature type, which comprises a suitable housing 1 made of hard rubber or similar material. At the ends oir this casing a pair of chambers 2 and 3 is provided in whichthere is arranged a pair of magnet assemblies 4 and 5, respectively. These, as shown, comprise a core 6, a system of magnetic circuit-forming pole pieces '1 held in place by screws 8, and field coils 9 which are connected in the usual telephone or battery circuit, not shown. in either series or in parallel circuit relation. Cooperatingwith these magnets is a pair of diaphragms 11 and 12 mounted in threaded covers v13 and 14 screwed onto the housing 1 over the tops of the magnets, the diaphragms being held in place in the covers by threaded rings 15 which are screwed onto them below the diaphragms. These diaphragms and their associated magnets as referred to hereinbefore are designed respectively with operating characteristics which adapt them to most eiliciently transmit to the auditory nerves of the user those irequencies in sound effects to which the auditory 00 nerves of the user are most sensitive, thereby p making it possible to communicate sound fre- To satisfy the most common those oi' the air-conduction receiver to operate 70 mostleiiiciently over thoseranges not so greatly attenuated in the middle ear, but, as will be apsatisfy the` particular requirements of the user.

In the center of the cover 13, which is mounted over the magnet 4. there is provided an opening 16 winch forms an air duct communicating with an air chamber 17` formed between the top ofthis cover and the diaphragm mounted in it. On the outer end of this duct there is provided a rounded boss 18 to which an ear tip 19 is attached. This tip when in place is adapted to transmit by air conduction the vibrations set up in the diaphragm 11 to the middle ear of the user.

In the cover 14 mounted over the other magnet 5 there is provided an opening 21. Through this opening the shaft 22 oi' an applicator 23 is extended and attached to the center of the diaphragm 12 mounted in such cover. (Diaphragm as used here is intended to mean any shape oi' element used to support the applicator and function as an armature or armature support.) The outer end of this applicator is preferably made somewhat in the shape of a button, and is adapted, through the proper shaping oi.' the housing 1, to bear against the bony structure surrounding the users ear, the housing being preferably adapted to permit the applicator to be adjusted so as to place it in the most sensitive position, whereby the applicator will most effectively transmit, by bone conduction, the vibrationsset up in the diaphragm 12 to which it is attached.

As shown in Fig. 2, to adapt the bone conduction half of the receiver for a wider range of adjustment, the housing 1 may be divided into two parts to provide separate sections 1a and 1b, respectively, for each half of the receiver, and these may be pivotally connected together by a suitable pivot 25 constructed to permit theready adjust- ,preciated, they may be modiiied in each set to ment of the applicator without disturbing the mounting of the ear tip. As illustrated, the airconduction section of this modification is contemplated to be the same as the corresponding section of Fig. 1, but in the bone conduction the magnet and diaphragm structure is reversed. In accordance with such design the shaft 22h of the applicator 23D is passed through a hole extending through the core 6b of the magnet, the screw 8b, and what is in eiect the back of the housing 1b. The advantage of this design is that the applicator shaft is provided with greater length, is guided better in the receiver, and it lends itself to shape which is easier to make and use.

Referring to the modification of the invention illustrated in Fig. 3, in which the parts thereof are similar to those shown in the other figures and denoted by the same numbers except that they have the letter c ailixed to them, a single diaphragm llc is employed to provide both air and bone conduction. For air conduction the structure is the same as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, while for bone conduction a second opening 30 is provided in the cover 13e near the edge thereof, and in this the shaft 22e of the applicator 23e is mounted and attached to the diaphragm, being sufficiently spaced from the edge of the diaphragm to provide the necessary vibration. To prevent the air in chamber 17c escaping by way of the hole 30 in which the applicator is attached to the diaphragm, and thereby impairing the operation of the air-conduction part of the receiver, a gasket 31 is mounted in it around the applicator shaft 22e.

In accordance with this latter modification of the invention the receiver need be no larger than the usual receiver, and may be completely held in the ear by the ear tip. In the other forms of the invention any suitable device, such as a strap or head band, earclip or the like, may be used for such purpose as long as it properly holds the receiver in place.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and mode of operation of my invention, and have illustrated and described what I now consider to be its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A hearing device for the deaf, comprising a casing, a pair of electromagnets mounted in said casing and adapted to be connected in an ear-phone circuit common to both said electromagnets, a pair of diaphragms mounted adjacent said magnets for operation thereby, an ear tube mounted on said casing and connected with I a pressure chamber formed between one of said diaphragms and the casing, and an applicator disposed to bear against the head of the user, being extended through an opening in said casing and connected to said other diaphragm.

2. A hearing device for the deaf, comprising a casing, electromagnetic means mounted in said casing and adapted to be connected in a unitary ear-phone circuit, means operated by said electromagnetic means for setting up vibrations in accordance with current variations to which said electromagnetic means may be subjected, air means for transmitting said vibrations to the middle ear of a user, and mechanical means in the form of an applicator operated by said electromagnetic means for transmitting said vibrations by way of the bone structure surrounding a users ear to his inner ear.

3. In a hearing device for the deaf, a pair of electromagnets adapted to be connected in an ear-phone circuit common to both said electromagnets, a casing structure for each of said electromagnets, a diaphragm mounted in each of said casings for operation by said magnets, an ear tube mounted on one of said casings and connected with a pressure chamber formed between it and the diaphragm mounted therein, an applicator adapted to bear against the head of a user extended through an opening in the other of said casings and connected to said other diaphragm, and means adjustably connecting said casings together.

4. A hearing device for the deaf, comprising a casing,` a pair of electromagnets mounted in said casing and adapted to be connected in an ear-phone circuit common to both of said electromagnets, a diaphragm mounted in said casing adjacent to each of said magnets but on opposite sides thereof for operation by said magnets, an ear tube mounted on said casing over one of said diaphragms and connected with a pressure chamber formed between it and said diaphragm, and an applicator disposed to bear against the head of a user connected to the other of said diaphragms, being provided with a shaft extended through an opening in said casing and the magnet adjacent thereto and connected with said other diaphragm.

5. A hearing device for the deaf, comprising a casing, an electromagnet adapted to be connected in an ear-phone circuit mounted in said casing, a diaphragm mounted in said casing for operation by said magnet, an ear tube mounted on said casing and connected with a pressure chamber formed between said diaphragm and the casing. and an applicator disposed to bear against the head of the used mounted on a shaft connected through an opening in said casing with said diaphragm at a point adjacent its outer edge.

6. A hearing device for the deaf, comprising an electromagnetically operable receiver of the air-transmission type constructed to operate at highest elciency over those ranges of sound frequency to which the auditory nerves of the user respond due to air pressure communication to the inner ear, and in combination therewith an electromagnetically operable receiver of the boneconduction type constructed to operate at highest eiiiciency over those ranges of sound effects most effectively communicated to a hearer by bone conduction, said receivers being so arranged as to operate simultaneously and in conjunction with each other in communicating sound effects to the hearer.

7. A hearing device for the deaf, comprising a pair of electromagnets, a common ear-phone circuit for energizing said magnets, a pair of armatures mounted adjacent said magnets for operation thereby, means for utilizing the vibrations produced by one of said armatures to transmit air waves produced thereby to the inner ear of the user, and means for communicating the vibrations produced by the other armature to the bone structure surrounding the ear of the user, said magnets and armatures being so constructed respectively as to produce the most eiiicient results over the sound range frequencies to which the users auditory nerves respond by the particular type of sound transmission produced by them.

8. A hearing device for the deaf, comprising 150 quencies most greatIy attenuated by lesions in the middle ear and the air-wave transmitter with operating characteristics which adapt it to operate most eciently on those frequencies which are not so greatly attenuated in the middle ear.

' SAMUEL F. LYBARGER. 

